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WEDNESDAY July 6, 2005 Volume 135, Number 388 Award-Winning Newspaper 2005 Better Newspaper Contest Inside TODAY Tomberlin enjoys ride as driver, owner Ask Don Tomberlin how he learned to “milk” a car through the corners and you might get a les son on both driving and dairy products. Sports, page 6A mngyHpißp “As,- -Zjmg Jw* MHnr -.'***.■ ... '‘-j i\ * j *7/aLf? I Kids' cereals not for grownups Breakfast cereal is nos talgia. Opening a box on a Saturday morning can bring you back to those lazy days of childhood. Hearth&Home, page 11A Happy BIRTHDAY! Cliff Broxton Jean Martin Davis Happy ANNIVERSARY! Wayne and Linda Patton (Surprise your friends! Let us know when their birthday or anniversary is, and we'll put their names in the paper that day Just send the name and date at least a week in advance, and we'll do the rest. E-mail to hhj@evansnewspapers.com, or mail them to us at the address inside. No phone calls, please. Many happy returns!) Area DEATHS Kevin Shane Gammage Arthur Shierling Obits, page 2A INDEX CLASSIFIED 10A COMICS 9A CROSSWORD ... .9A HEARTH&HOME .11A OBITUARIES 2A OPINION 4A SPORTS 6A SCHOOL NEWS .. .2A TV LISTINGS 9A WEATHER 2A PERIODICAL IbbIIbIIbBBbIIbbIIbBBBbIbIIIbBbIIbBbIIbBBBbIbIIbBbII 6* Georpa Newspaper ProjecJ Main Library UNIV OF GEORGIA ATHENS GA 30602-0002 3-OfGfT 306 July 6, 2005 Serving Houston County Since 1870 C7!Tf\ dMrmstmt JCamclf dim * LEGAL ORGAN FOR HOUSTON COUNTY, city of Perry\ city of Warner Robins and city of Centerville perry") mijL CITYHattJ I * < jfe . -:>-% ... . - Blf ' *> HHJ/Mike George Perry’s five-term Mayor Jim Worrall stands in front of Perry City Hall on Washington Street Tuesday. Worrall said he plans to run for a sixth term. Worrall Longtime mayor to face at least one challenger come November By MIKE GEORGE HHJ Staff Writer Perry’s five-term mayor said Tuesday that he plans to run for a sixth term in office. James E. “Jim” Worrall has served as the city’s pub lic face for 17 years, first elected in 1988. A qualifying dateTias not been set for this year’s city elections, but Worrall released a written state ment that announced he will be a candidate for re election in November. “I was just overwhelmed by the number of people who have asked me to run one more time, the people who County OKs arbitration lor leaky building By RAY UGHTNER HHJ Staff Writer Houston County wants a complete and usable building on the site of the Juvenile Justice Building. The board of commissioners approved spending $750 for the county attorney’s law firm, O’Neal, Long and Hall, to handle the arbi Peppy FD closer to buying safety pobot Only SSOO more needed to fund purchase of educational ‘Sparky’ By MIKE GEORGE HHJ Staff Writer The Perry Fire Department has secured a $4,000 grant from the Georgia Firefighters Burn Foundation for a robot that will be used to teach young people about fire safety. Perry Fire Chief Freddy Howell said the grant will move the department closer to the $9,500 they need to buy the remote-control robot used for fire safety and bum prevention demon strations. The “Sparky the Fire Dog” robot can look around, wink and carry on conversa tions and play music as he “drives” his fire truck. The robot opens and closes his www.hhjnews.com to seek re-election came to my house, who called me and wrote me let ters,” Worrall said. “I’m old enough to have the experi ence necessary, and still young enough to do the job.” Perry’s mayor serves as the ceremonial head of the community, acting as a go between for the city and the state, and representing Perry at public events. Worrall said his work as mayor is not finished. If re elected, he plans to contin ue shepherding several major development proj ects, including the exten sion of Ball Street to the Perry Parkway. Worrall said tration process. “The contractor needs to give us a complete, usable facility that does not leak,” Commission Chairman Ned Sanders said. “Another issue is the consistency of the facade. ” Sanders said the contractor and architect “should come up with a permanent solution. It is not up to mouth as he talks and can blink his eyes at children. Both the robot and the truck are made from impact resistant plastic. “It’s something more entertaining for the kids,” Howell said. “They won’t even know that they’re learning.” The department already won a $5,000 grant from the Flint Energies Foundation, a non-profit organization that supports local charities and fire and emergency crews, to buy the dog, but still needs the remaining SSOO to pay for it. Howell said the dog will be a useful tool for the depart ment. See ROBOT, page 12A the extension will keep heavy tractor-trailer traffic off of Perry’s downtown streets. He also plans to continue working with the Perry Rotary Club and the Downtown Development Authority to build a new park and walking trail along Big Indian Creek. He also plans to focus on the multimillion-dollar ren ovation and expansion of the city’s wastewater treat ment plant on Frank Satterfield Road. “Water is our most pre cious commodity and some thing we are going to have to deal with in the coming years,” he said. “We’ve got us to tell them what the solution is.” While there is still not a final com pletion date on the building, Sanders said such arbitration is usu ally resolved in 60 days. “The purpose of it is to make it less difficult than lengthy legal costs and it is binding by the contract,” he said. Houston Lake phase to end in October • - v 1 : - ' ' i , ..'t 'mi '.\ , \ HHJ/Ray Lightner Phase II of the Houston Lake Road widening is scheduled to be complete by the end of October, according to Georgia Department of Transportation Field Engineer Clinton Ford. The orange barrels are out directing traffic to stay on the old portion of the road as new sections for the widening project are paved between Ga. 96 and Ga. 127. Ford said Phase 111 will widen the road down into Perry at U.S. 341, but projects involving the rerouting of the road at Ga. 127 and a new bridge over Mossy Creek have not yet been let. to protect our drinking water.” Worrall taught American history and government at Perry Junior High School for four years before accept ing a job as the first full time principal of Perry Elementary School in 1956. He worked as a school administrated T<sd*Tnore than 30 years before retir ing from the Savannah Christian Preparatory School in 1988. Worrall said he retired partly to run for office. He defeated former Perry City Councilman Gene Smith in a December 1988 See WORRALL, page 3A an Evans Family Newspaper 50c mm. ONE SECTION *l2 PAGES O'Neal: Bull, Shipp WR state rep says pundit’s statement is ‘IOO% untrue’ By TIMOTHY GRAHAM HHJ Staff Writer Despite what the rumor mongers might say, state Rep. Larry O’Neal has no interest in becoming Georgia’s lieutenant gover nor. In Monday’s column, Georgia political pundit Bill Shipp opined that Gov. Sonny Perdue was interest ed in putting O’Neal up as a candidate to run against Ralph Reed. Here’s what Shipp wrote: “Rep. Larry O’Neal, R- Warner Robins, a member of Gov. Sonny Perdue’s inner circle, has been mentioned as another possible candi date for lieutenant gover nor. Presumably, O’Neal would have the full, if not public, blessing of Perdue in a race against Reed.” One problem with that is that O’Neal says he is not interested. Another is that See O’NEAL, page 12A Sanders said the American Arbitration Association will give the county several nominees to choose from, which the parties must agree to. “It’s usually a retired judge,” he said. The Juvenile Justice Building was See COMMISSION, page 3A O’NEAL